Prefabricated storage shelving



July 14, 1959 M. L. CLEVETT, JR; ETAL 2,894,642

PREFABRICATED STORAGE SHELVING Filed July 20. 1954 INVENTORS M01315. CZQVettJZ:

ATTORNEY United States Patent PREFABRICATED STORAGE SHELVING Merton iL. Clevett, In, East Natick, and Frank W. Lewis,

The invention described herein, if patented, may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes, without the payment to us of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to prefabricated storage shelving for the storage of frozen foods in prefabricated walk-in refrigerators, storage of medical supplies and surgical equipment in field hospitals, storage of tools and instruments in maintenance repair shelters, etc.

It is an object of the invention to provide a simplified construction of shelving of a temporary or semi-permanent nature, which is composed of few parts and which may be readily and quickly assembled and installed.

It is another object of the invention to provide a shelving construction in which a single type bracket may be employed for supporting the shelves and for securing the uprights to their supports at either the top or bottom or both.

A further object of the invention resides in the provision of a shelving construction in which the shelves may be removed independently of one another by merely raising one end of a shelf so as to clear the adjacent upright and then swinging the shelf clear of the other upright.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the novel shelf construction;

Figure 2 is an end elevational view thereof with the shelving supported on a floor or the like;

Figulre 3 is a fragmentary detail view through one end of the tie rod and its supporting clip;

Figure 4 is a front elevational view of the structure of Figure 2 and showing in dotted lines the manner of removing one of the shelves without disturbing the other shelves or the uprights therefor;

Figure 5 is an end elevational view of the shelving and showing the same depending from the roof or ceiling of a structure; and,

Figure 6 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 66 of Figure 2.

Referring to the drawings more specifically the numeral 1 indicates a pair of spaced uprights composed of pipes or rods 2 to which a plurality of brackets are detachably connected for supporting the shelves and for supporting the pipes or rods 2, either forming a base as shown in Figures 2 and 4, or depending from a roof or ceiling as shown in Figure 5.

These brackets are of identical construction whether used for supporting the shelves or for maintaining the pipes 2 in their operative position, and are indicated generally by the numeral 3.

Each bracket 3 comprises a flat base portion 4 provided with a plurality of apertures 5 for receiving screws for securing them in position on the floor or ceiling when used as supports for the pipes. These brackets are also provided with collars 6 rising from the flat base portion "ice 4 and reinforced by webs 7 and 8 integrally formed with the base and collar 6. The collar 6, in each instance is also provided with a threaded opening 91 for receiving a setscrew 9.

If the shelving is to be supported by a base, as in a walk-in refrigerator or the like, two of the brackets 3 are secured to the lower ends of the pipes 2 by setting up on the setscrews 9, and the lower ends of the pipes '2 may be flush with the lower faces of the brackets. The

pipes 2 are fixedly secured together in spaced relationship by a tie rod or pipe 10 Whose ends are received in clips 11 mounted adjacent the lower ends of the pipes 2 and fixed to the tie rod 10 by means of setscrews 12. The

shelves themselves are indicated by the numeral 13 and each of them is provided at its opposite ends with openended slots 14 having a width corresponding to the external diameter of the rods 2 of the uprights 1.

The shelves are supported on brackets 3 as heretofore indicated, but in this instance the brackets are inverted with respect to the lower brackets 3 as shown in Figure 2 for supporting the uprights, and the ends of the shelves rest on the fiat base portions 4 of the brackets. It will be noted that in each instance in the present illustra tions three sections of shelving are used and they are spaced apart vertically a distance which will permit the lower and intermediate shelves to be tilted upwardly, as indicated in dotted lines in Figure 4 so that one of the slots 14 will clear its upright 1 so that the shelf section may be swung around in a horizontal plane and then withdrawn from the other upright, when desired for cleaning or other purposes.

In some instances, it may be desired to suspend the shelving from a roof or ceiling, or in fact, to support the uprights at both their upper and lower ends. In Figure 5 the shelving is shown as depending from a ceiling A and for this purpose it is only necessary that the brackets 3 be inverted, just as in the case of supporting the shelves, and the inverted bracket which receives the upper end of its rod or pipe 2 may be secured to the ceiling by a plurality of screws installed in the eight openings 5 as indicated in Figure 6.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it will be noted that we have devised an exceedingly simple and inexpensive construction of temporary or semi-permanent shelving composed of relatively few parts and which may be readily and easily installed or dismantled as occasion requires.

In accordance with the patent statutes we have described what we now consider to be the preferred form of the invention, but since various minor changes may be made in structural details without departing from the spirit of the invention it is intended that all such changes be included within the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. Prefabricated shelving comprising a pair of laterally spaced uprights including a pair of vertically arranged pipes of uniform external diameter, a bracket mounted on the lower end of each pipe, each bracket comprising a symmetrical, substantially oval-shaped body portion having a flat bearing face provided with screw-receiving openings, a collar centrally arranged on each bracket, said body portion and collar provided with an opening extending therethrough and in which the lower end of the pipe is positioned with the end substantially flush with the flat bearing face of the bracket, other brackets of identical construction spaced vertically on the pipes with their bearing faces directed upwardly, set screws mounted in the collars for securing them in various fixed positions on the pipes, and shelves having their respective ends positioned on the upwardly directed bearing faces of said lastmentioned brackets.

2. Prefabricated shelving comprising a pair of laterally spaced uprights including a pair of vertically arranged pipes of uniform diameter, identical symmetrical, substantially oval-shaped brackets for securing the pipes in position and for mounting shelves on the pipes, each bracket comprising a body portion having a flat bearing face provided With screw-receiving openings, a collar centrally arranged on the body portion, said body portion and collar provided With an opening extending therethrough, one of said brackets secured to each end of each of said pipes, the brackets at the upper and lower ends of the pipes being arranged With their bearing faces extending upwardly and downwardly respectively, other of said brackets mounted on said pipes intermediate their ends and having their bearing faces extending upwardly, set screws on the collars of said brackets for securing them in various positions on the pipes, shelves on the intermediately positioned brackets, and means for securing the upper and lower brackets to fixed supports.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Eirick Aug. 31, Weatherley July 5, McElroy May 8, Talbot Aug. 7, Gibbs Apr. 5, Peyton Mar. 14, Fitzgerald Dec. 19, Royle Feb. 20, Wilkinson Mar. 23, Carpenter Jan. 11, Rock Jan. 28, Ford Aug. 13, Uhri Oct. 31,- 

